The Beth Lists
  • Homepage
  • Little Bear's Adventures
  • Diverse Dining List
  • 90 Notable Nights
  • Happy List
  • Quilt Adventure Blog
  • Not So Happy List
  • The Texas Twenty List
  • Mom's Picnic List
  • 18+ Dance Adventures
  • 55 Strangers
  • The Barbie Bucket List
  • 60 Celebrations
  • 57 Celebrations of the Fifties!
 90 Notable Nights

#145 - La Posada in Laredo, TX

2/12/2017

2 Comments

 

​Hotel Near the Border
​

Don and I stayed at La Posada in January.
Picture
We were curious about staying at this hotel, with lots of history AND a view of Mexico.

​
​The History
​

I love a hotel that has a past. This boutique hotel was built in 1961, around four historical buildings.
Picture
The 2-story main building sits where the city jail once sat. In 1886 the original building was converted into the old Laredo High School.  

The New School
​
​
In 1916 the building was torn down and a new school was built.  
Picture
Now, the "new school" houses the main entrance, the lobby, restaurant, bar, ballroom and offices.
​
Finding the Hotel
​

We heard it would be tricky getting to the hotel... and it was. Being a border town, we were warned to make the correct exit or we'd end up heading over the bridge to Mexico. It was indeed nerve-wracking.
Picture
Picture
We worried and exited too soon, then eventually GPS lead us directly to the hotel's garage entrance. It looked a little sketchy down there. A garage guard checked our name on a list and moved the cones. After parking, I peered through the decorative wall and saw the bridge to Mexico, that we almost crossed.

Leaving... No Easier
​
​
This is the scene we met after exiting the hotel the next morning.
Picture
After turning onto the wrong street, we became trapped. It was too narrow to turn around, so I had to hop out and move the orange blocks.

​
Surrounding the Hotel
​
​
Behind the hotel was the Rio Grande and border. The historic San Augustine Plaza was just outside the front entrance.
Picture
Picture
The lively square, with band stand and statues and traditional Mexican music, made us feel like we'd actually taken that bridge right over to Mexico. The sound of the cathedral bells chiming and voices speaking Spanish, made me forget we were still in the U.S. 

The Tack Room
​
​
Also right across the brick road from the plaza, was The Tack Room Steak House.
Picture
This elegant home from the 1800's was one of the four historic buildings that made up the hotel. We were disappointed to learn the well known restaurant was closed that evening. 
​
The Lobby
​
​
From the front doors of La Posada, the lobby was down a few steps.  Between the 2 sets of stairs I noticed an interesting image in the Italian marble floors.  
Picture
The Spanish Doubloon coin is evidently the symbol used for the hotel. The black and white ballgown was just one of many costumes on display.

Washington's Birthday
​
​
It was January, but the hotel was already gearing up for the month long celebration of George Washington's birthday.
Picture
Picture
Laredo has been celebrating the President's birthday with parades and balls and costumes, since the late 19th century. I especially loved the child's gown with the image of Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.

Ghosts in the Garden
​
​
Supposedly there are ghosts that roam the hotel.  One part of the hotel had once been a convent and supposedly there is at least one nun ghost on the grounds.  
Picture
Picture
We didn't see ghosts in black and white habits, but we saw lots of white, ghostly figures in the gardens and near the pool. There had been a recent freeze and the bushes were still wrapped in sheets.

​The Main Pool
​

​This pool view shows the 2-story hotel that was built in 1961.  
Picture
Architect, Tom Herring incorporated the old school and a few other buildings. Mr. Herring has used historic buildings in a number of hotel constructions in Texas. 

More Exploring
​
​
Don and I explored the "compound" trying to figure out what was historic and what was added in the '60's.
Picture
 We passed the patio, outside the hotel's Zaragoza Grill restaurant.

Another Pool?
​
​
We found another area of the hotel, with a pool and overgrown trees and bushes.  
Picture
Picture
The wind was blowing eerily and I could picture a nun scurrying by. It didn't look like this part of the hotel was in use.

Finding Our Room
​
​
The hotel had a maze-like feel, but we finally got it figured out.
Picture
Our hall was fairly quiet, but maybe that's because the area we requested was not the top choice for other guests.

Our Room
​
Picture
This photo shows just part of the spacious entry with bar area.   
Picture
The sitting area had room to spread out. The brick wall kept things very quiet. Don was drawn right away to the balcony... with the view.

Bedroom and Baths
​
​
The bedroom also had a brick wall and beamed ceilings.
Picture
Picture
The decor was a little worn, but all was clean and the price was so reasonable, I again thought I was in Mexico. Two bathrooms, bedroom, living room and bar area, for around $100. 

The View
​
​
And here is the view we had requested. We could have faced the pool and palms, but how often do you have a balcony looking across the  Rio to Mexico.
Picture
It was pretty odd, I must admit.  We watched the pedestrian bridge at 5:00.  The line-up of people returning to the U.S at 5:00, nearly covered the length of the bridge. Many seemed to be sent down a caged-in walkway that lead to the building right beneath our room. Yep, we sat on our balcony and had drinks, watching the canine dogs and border patrol and the unhappy folks being detained below.

Mexico
​
​
This is a close up of the bridge in the morning, with lighter traffic.  It was odd to look at the river and see the U.S. side with no obvious wall.  
Picture
Our stay was on January 8, 2017, before the inauguration.  There was a lot to ponder as we studied the pedestrian bridge, as well as the bridge that we almost drove over earlier.  There seemed to be a traffic jam coming into the U.S., that never eased up.
​
Evening
​

Picture
After watching the sunset over our odd view, we headed to the hotel's bar and restaurant within the "old school". The restaurant was quiet at first.

Cheers
​
​
Our bartender was a little frazzled with a large crowd at the bar, watching whatever big game was playing on January 8.  
Picture
Don and I wore our western jewelry and toasted to the history. Sadly there was no one at the bar to share this interesting experience with. They were all focused on the TV.  We moved to the dining room and had a decent, but not memorable dinner.

​What's Notable?
​
​
The most memorable part of our stay was sitting on our balcony, trying to figure out what the connection was between the cities on both sides of the Rio Grande.
Picture
I so wish we could have stepped back in time to 1961, when American tourists flocked to the new hotel and enjoyed festive excursions across the border to buy sombreros and vanilla and maracas! What a different time. No one back then was anticipating the building of a big wall!

I wish we'd had better communication with staff or locals or even travelers.  There were some locals in the bar and some business travelers who didn't seem to care about where they were.  Some good people encounters would have helped complete our overnight adventure!
​
2 Comments
Irma Martin
4/26/2019 10:31:34 am

Hi, I'm the moderator for the Laredo, History and Genealogy FB page and wondered if I could reference this article. It's got some great history that people might be interested in. It's a closed group run by Moises Garza for genealogy purposes.
I appreciate your time
Irma Martin

Reply
Beth
4/26/2019 02:26:14 pm

Hi Irma! I'm so glad you liked the write up. I'm happy to have you reference my blog. I do caution you that I am no historian. I blog about the interesting, curious, odd and historic hotels we visit. I get my info from people I meet and from the internet, etc. I have fun researching info, but with Wikipedia and random articles, there are sometimes conflicts with info. I do my best, but just wanted to make that clear. Again, thanks for contacting me. I re-read the blog entry and it makes me want to head back to Laredo for a visit! :
:) Beth

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Ninety Notable

    ​       Nights


    My New Year's Resolution for 2014 was to start documenting some of the memorable overnights I've had in some very odd and curious motels and hotels. Like the adventures in my Dining Blog, I have learned to enjoy the surprises that happen when you step out of the comfort zone, far away from the well-known chains.    

    I began with a few entries recalling my very first home away from home memories from my youth.  Then, I started sharing about some of the quirky and unforgettable motels, hotels and inns that my husband and I have discovered in recent years.

    ​The best part about this challenge was making some lists with Don and getting on the road in search of new overnight adventures.  I gave myself a 2-year goal to write up 90 stories and the goal was met. Now we just keep on adding!

    Archives

    March 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    September 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    00 The Blog's Beginning
    0 Foreign Bermuda
    0 Foreign Chile
    0 Foreign Curacao
    0 Foreign - Guatemala
    0 Foreign Italy
    0 Foreign Japan
    0 Foreign Mexico
    0 Foreign Roatan
    0 Foreign Thailand
    Alabama
    Arizona
    Arkansas
    California
    Colorado
    Florida
    Georgia
    Hawaii
    Idaho
    Illinois
    Iowa
    Louisiana
    Michigan
    Mississippi
    Missouri
    Montana
    Nevada
    New Mexico
    New York
    North Carolina
    Oklahoma
    Oregon
    South Dakota
    Tennessee
    Texas
    Utah
    Vermont
    Washington
    Wyoming

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Homepage
  • Little Bear's Adventures
  • Diverse Dining List
  • 90 Notable Nights
  • Happy List
  • Quilt Adventure Blog
  • Not So Happy List
  • The Texas Twenty List
  • Mom's Picnic List
  • 18+ Dance Adventures
  • 55 Strangers
  • The Barbie Bucket List
  • 60 Celebrations
  • 57 Celebrations of the Fifties!